Five Major Pivotal Events in the Attack on the Freedoms of Women and Girls in the Year 2025.
This time last year, feminist advocacy groups were preparing for a return of Donald Trump to office. Few were prepared for. The volume and speed of administrative decrees originating in the White House were interpreted as a intentional maneuver to cause confusion and fear. This strategy had its intended impact – there was confusion, anger and exhaustion as organisations scrambled to address the shortfall left by a sudden aid suspension. But the situation was about to worsen.
The Trump administration has been the key driver, complemented by fervent lobbying efforts by deeply conservative factions using the moment to build worldwide connections with like-minded governments.
The movement against gender equality signifies a transnational grouping of government figures, churches, and advocacy collectives as well as billionaire families and individuals that work to dismantle progress across a wide spectrum of issues. These include pro-choice policies, equality for sexual minorities, gender identity recognition, and inclusive relationship teaching.
They achieve this through advocating to officials, financing legal challenges, sabotaging multilateral work to push for parity, disseminating propaganda, and supporting ideologically-matched groups.
We analyze five junctures that shaped the welfare, autonomy, and survival of girls and women.
The Demise of a Major Aid Agency
In the month of March, a month and a half following a major US aid agency is suspended, causing turmoil around the world, a top American diplomat announces that nearly all of the body's projects will be terminated. US diplomats, ex-presidents and aid and medical specialists denounce the action, stating that mortality will increase. Human rights advocates say that the closure of the organization is not just a financial shortfall, it is a brutal assault on fundamental freedoms and family planning and reproductive care. Many organisations say females will bear the brunt by reduced funding, especially in war zones. As the year ends, data shows how a tremendous loss of life has already occurred from illness, famine, inadequate obstetric services, and violence against women, with a far greater catastrophe looming. Additional key contributing countries proceed with parallel slashes. A director of a global justice organization says a move to cut foreign aid drastically is a move to appease a political ally.
Christian-Right Groups Raise Voices During UN Women Summit
In the same month, several conservative religious groups meet in an luxury Manhattan venue for a biannual gathering held alongside the UN's flagship gender equality meeting. It is an opportunity to share tactics on how to counter the UN's progressive policies. They are in high spirits as they celebrate changes in American foreign policy on gender, diversity and abortion. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the global conference with a somber alert that “the poison of patriarchy” is resurgent, after a study indicates that groups opposing progressive rights are systematically eroding established norms on core aspects of gender equality around the world.
Conferences on Traditional Values in Africa
Over the warmer months, a cluster of meetings in Africa themed around the traditional family and national sovereignty sparks alarm among rights advocates. In the start of May, a head of state and partner open a significant conference to combat what they label external influences undermining local norms. A soon after, another continental gathering on family values is held. Both events are attended by leading American and European conservative activists, including leaders of well-known groups. One speaker urges African NGOs to push back against “worldwide progressive social restructuring” of multilateral bodies. In the following month, a major religious institution hosts a gathering about supporting traditional households in the region, an event that pro-choice campaigners say has become a forum for opposing queer and trans rights. Activists observe that the scale of their presence has expanded considerably.
Contraceptive Destruction Order
As clinics in sub-Saharan Africa report they are facing shortages of birth control, including post-rape care packages, the US announces in July plans to incinerate a vast stockpile of birth control held in a warehouse in Europe. A leading family planning organization states that their destruction will deny countless females from family planning options, and lead to a public health crisis of unwanted pregnancies. The organization labels the plan an dogmatic choice “about imposing an anti-rights agenda on the entire world” and “a calculated move to control fertility”. A renowned doctors' group calls it “cruel and irresponsible”. Aid groups propose purchasing the contraceptives so they can reach their intended destinations, but the US declines every proposal. The situation remains unresolved as the regional government are blocking usable products to be destroyed.
Broader Restrictions on Aid
Reinstating the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits Washington's support for groups that provide, advocate for or advise on abortion services overseas, is standard practice for certain US administrations. It came as no surprise when the rule was reinstated in January. The administration also rejoined an international anti-abortion agreement. But in the autumn, the US announces it intends to broaden the scope of the policy to include sovereign states and UN agencies in addition to NGOs, and to encompass equity and inclusion initiatives. Further specifics about the expansion of the rule are expected in early 2026. A director of a major health partnership says widening the scope will have “catastrophic impacts”. Pro-choice activists fear that new US aid packages being arranged with states on the continent will become conditional on accepting the new, wider policy.
